Bus Maintenance Training Group Meets to Expand Apprenticeship
Slides from the Bus Maintenance Meeting Presentation
A committee of labor and management subject matter experts (SMEs) consisting of technicians, instructors and managers from bus transit met at WMATA's Carmen Turner Training Facility June 14-16, 2016, as part of a national effort to expand apprenticeships under the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI). The national Bus Maintenance Apprenticeship project is a five year effort directed by the Center. The primary mission is to modify the existing DOL Apprenticeship framework, moving it away from a fixed, time-based program to a competency-based program, making it more flexible to accommodate a variety of agency needs.
A key element of apprenticeship is the creation of a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) comprised of both labor and management representatives to mutually direct program activities. Although this effort will strongly encourage agencies to achieve DOL registered status, the final decision to do so will rest with each agency. Registered Apprenticeship will provide bus transit with a nationally recognized training program, ensuring that technicians that gain certification are in fact qualified to do their jobs. Those agencies not seeking registered status will be able to develop and deliver a more structured and comprehensive training program.
Training provided under the apprenticeship program will place a strong emphasis on on-the-job-learning (OJL), and on classroom, lab, and other related instruction that engages students in the learning process. The base program will be structured so those candidates with basic mechanical aptitude would receive the full complement of training needed to achieve journey status. A process to confirm applicant competency will allow participants to progress quicker through the program consistent with existing knowledge and ability. The Apprenticeship Committee will work to recommend various processes to confirm applicant competency that ultimately will be left to each agency to adopt locally. The process will recommend both hands-on demonstrations of competency, and traditional written assessments.
Work will also include a companion guidebook to assist agencies implement apprenticeship and achieve registered status, as well the development of distance based learning modules. For additional information contact John Schiavone at [email protected].
President Barack Obama's top transportation adviser noticed one thing in particular about the Triangle on Monday afternoon as his plane descended on RDU International Airport: "an insane amount of traffic." With Wake residents poised to vote on a countywide transit plan this fall, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited Raleigh on Monday to tout the importance of treating population growth with an array of transportation options. The Wake Transit Plan aims to reduce traffic congestion and connect the Triangle's focal points, such as N.C. State University, Research Triangle Park, Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Voters will decide Nov. 8 whether to fund the plan through a half-cent sales tax increase.
State Sen. Kathleen O'Connor Ives and the Salisbury Council on Aging coordinated a public meeting featuring Joseph Costanzo, administrator for the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority, at the Salisbury Senior Center on June 13. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the MVRTA's area routes and to explore the prospect of including a stop at the Salisbury Senior Center.
Attendees of the forum also requested an additional bus stop at the Salisbury Public Library, and prominently marked bus stops along the current route in order to improve access for customers.
Benton County Public Works Department officials are holding a series of open houses to update citizens on the state of the county's transportation system and gather public input on how it could be improved. That input will help shape a major update of the Benton County Transportation System Plan, a policy document that will guide the county's actions on transportation issues for the next 20 years. "It's a precursor to the TSP," Public Works Director Josh Wheeler said of the outreach effort. "It gives everyone an understanding of what our transportation system is like now."
Rani Iyer, author of Green Transport, drew from her real-life experience of growing up amid tree-filled backyards, beaches and rivers in the Western Ghats and blended them with scientific facts to demonstrate how the environment can be saved. At a time when owning private vehicles is viewed as a sign of success, the book explains complex ideas in simple language for young readers who are serious about doing their bit to save the planet from ecological degradation.
A planner known for emphasizing walking, biking and transit at the helm of Salt Lake City's public works department may soon be in charge of Minneapolis' infrastructure. Mayor Betsy Hodges nominated Robin Hutcheson on Monday to be the city's next public works director, leading a department with more than 1,000 employees and an annual operating budget exceeding $300 million. The public works director oversees the city's transportation network, drinking water supply, parking facilities, and trash and recycling service, among other responsibilities. If approved, she would be the first non-engineer to hold the role. Advocates for walking, biking and transit had pressed the city to hire someone who would consider all modes of transportation.
As the culmination of a two-year effort, the plan for redeveloping about 100 acres of downtown Philadelphia was released late last week by Amtrak, Brandywine Realty Trust, Drexel University, PennDOT and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The partners also announced several early projects to improve the immediate station area and help trigger development throughout the 30th Street Station District.
Calgary city council and the union representing transit workers have come to an understanding over 80 potential job cuts within the service. An independent auditor proposed the cuts after conducting a Zero-Based Review (ZBR) on the service. ZBRs look for efficiencies without affecting frontline services to customers. One of the auditor's recommendations included "outsourcing" janitorial and outdoor maintenance jobs to private contractors, with potential savings listed at $2.7 million. Although Mayor Naheed Nenshi praised the ZBR process, he said some shortcomings were found with this latest one. "It has become clear that we had a problem in the process in that we didn't talk fully to the stakeholders and we didn't talk to the union," he said.
The city of Knoxville is seeking a $6.4 million grant from the state to install a "smart" traffic signal system along Broadway as part of a citywide upgrade.
Aimed at relieving congestion and improving air quality, the project also would enable the city and Knoxville Area Transit to build the region's first bus rapid transit project. Even if the bus rapid transit project does not materialize, the health, safety and efficiency benefits justify the investment along one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. The grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which uses federal dollars, would not require a match from city coffers, according to documents outlining the scope of the project. City Council is to consider authorization of the proposal at today's meeting.
Before it opens to the public Sunday, IndyGo offered a look at the city's new $26.5 million downtown transit center. The finishing touches are still being placed on the new Julia Carson Transit Center. Construction began in 2014, but was delayed by archeological findings that added an extra $6.5 million to the cost. Passengers can expect access to arrival and departure information, along with screens outside in the covered bus bay area. Now all downtown routes will change once the transit center opens on Sunday. IndyGo says those changes will make the transit network more efficient and allow for smoother transfers and getting around the city faster.
Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) last week approved the Six-Year Improvement Plan, which allocates $14.4 billion to transportation projects over the next six fiscal years. CTB's fiscal year begins July 1. The program sets aside $3.7 billion for rail and public transportation projects, with the remaining $10.7 billion earmarked for highway construction. The plan provides funding for more than 3,200 transportation projects throughout Virginia, including $500,000 in FY2017 to expand Virginia Railway Express' Lorton platform.
